The History of the Civil Rights Movement

The continued into the ‘60s, with support from newly-elected President John F. Kennedy and his brother: Attorney General, Robert Kennedy. The violence of the Birmingham, Alabama influenced the President to fully endorse the movement. On June 19th, , he proposed a Civil Rights Bill to Congress, which was approved in after his death with support from President Lyndon Johnson. The bill struck down existing legislation that allowed for , and its approval was largely influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. and the on Washington of August 1963. Capturing the attention of the and the population, this attracted of of people in support of civil rights.

Following that, the Voting Rights Act of ended the prejudiced voting system. Instantly effective, blacks began and running for public office. However, just days later on August 11th, a violent six-day riot in the Los Angeles of Watts resulted in 34 deaths. This was indicative of a period of racially-motivated that occurred in the mid-to-late 1960s.